Resources for Middle School Students

Find resources for youth ages 9-14 who are experiencing a mental health challenge.

If Your Child is in Crisis

A mental health crisis is when your child is at risk of harming themselves or others, or if their emotions and behavior seem extreme and out of control. NAMI provides guidance for what to do if your child is in crisis.

You can also visit NAMI Fort Wayne’s If In Crisis page for local emergency and crisis resources.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

General Resources

Big changes are happening in the brain during adolescence! Here are 7 things to know about the teen brain…

NAMI

Find resources for youth that describe some of the differences between normal behaviors and mental health symptoms, that encourage open communication, and that may help you determine when and where to get help.

The Child Mind Institute has published a variety of resource guides and articles to assist parents and caregivers raise healthy ad resilient children.

Local Resources

Ronald McDonald Care Mobile The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile is a doctor’s office on wheels delivering pediatrics providers to your neighborhood at no-charge to families without medical insurance. Children 0 – 18 years have access to the following services:

  • Wellness visits
  • Immunizations
  • Screenings (hearing, vision, developmental)
  • Point of care testing (lead, strep, urine)
  • Fluoride treatments
  • Childhood health and safety education

Support Organizations

The Trevor Project provides life-saving and life-affirming resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth to create safe, accepting and inclusive environments for all young people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Programs

Ending the Silence Program

NAMI Ending the Silence is an engaging presentation that helps middle and high school aged youth learn about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if they or a loved one show symptoms of a mental health condition. Although the in person is not currently offered through the NAMI Fort Wayne affiliate, an online version is available. The online version is identical to the in-person version, but offered exclusively via online video, accessible anytime through the NAMI Ending the Silence website. Three presentations are available for students, staff and families.

NAMI Wisconsin offers a Mental Health Chat presentation to be used in classrooms for 4th-6th grade students. The presentation includes:

  • A description of mental illness and why it’s sometimes hard to understand
  • A reading of a book about feelings and moods.
  • A whiteboard presentation about mental illness, getting help and simple statistics about mental illness.
  • A relaxation exercise
  • Follow up curriculum

Books

A listing of books that may help youth understand and talk about mental health topics. Each title is linked to the book listing on Goodreads which provides a description of the book’s content, the author, and quick purchase links to Amazon, Kindle and a variety of other book sellers.

What to Do When the News Scares You

Big Life Journal for Tweens and Teens (11+) is a science-based journal that helps tweens and teens grow through daily activities focusing on encouraging thoughts to promote a resilience, confidence, gratitude, kindness, and self-love.

Apps

GoNoodle Games and Videos get kids active and also teach mindfulness! Includes content approved by their team of child experts–seasoned designers, educators, child development specialists and researchers. There are no in-app purchases.

Headspace With the right approach, parents, educators, caregivers, and loving relatives can teach meditation for kids to help them understand how to calm their minds and settle into their bodies.

Headspace for Teens Free for all teens in the US if you’re between the ages of 13–18 years old!

Calm app for kids has sleep stories and mindfulness episodes for all ages.

Videos

The California Healthy Minds Thriving Kids Project provides a series of free, evidence-based video and print resources that caregivers and educators can use to teach their kids critical mental health and coping skills. Three developmentally appropriate versions (elementary, middle and high school) were created for each topic. The program teaches kids 5 clinically proven mental health skills: understanding feelings, relaxation skills, understanding thoughts, managing intense emotions and mindfulness. Each video comes with a brief companion resource that summarizes key ideas and includes an activity that can be practiced in school or at home.